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The stellar initial mass function (IMF), which is often assumed to be universal across unresolved stellar populations, has recently been suggested to be "bottom-heavy" for massive ellipticals. In these galaxies, the prevalence of…

There is good evidence that the centers of massive early-type galaxies have a bottom-heavy stellar initial mass function (IMF) compared to the IMF of the Milky Way. Here we study the radial variation of the IMF within such galaxies, using a…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2017-05-31 Pieter van Dokkum , Charlie Conroy , Alexa Villaume , Jean Brodie , Aaron Romanowsky

The stellar initial mass function (IMF) is a fundamental property in the measurement of stellar masses and galaxy star formation histories. In this work we focus on the most massive galaxies in the nearby universe…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2022-06-29 Meng Gu , Jenny Greene , Andrew B. Newman , Christina Kreisch , Matthew Quenneville , Chung-Pei Ma , John P. Blakeslee

The presence (and nature) of variations in the stellar initial mass function (IMF) at substantially sub-solar masses and metallicities ($m$$<$0.5M$_{\odot}$, [M/H]$\lesssim$$-$1) remains poorly constrained. Predictions from simulations vary…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2026-03-17 Roger E. Cohen , Mario Gennaro , Matteo Correnti , Kristen B. W. McQuinn , Vedant Chandra

Systematic variations of the IMF in early-type galaxies, and their connection with possible drivers such as velocity dispersion or metallicity, have been much debated in recent years. Strong lensing over galaxy scales combined with…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2016-04-27 Dominik Leier , Ignacio Ferreras , Prasenjit Saha , Stéphane Charlot , Gustavo Bruzual , Francesco La Barbera

The stellar initial mass function (IMF) is expressed by $\phi(m) \propto m^{-\alpha}$ with the slope $\alpha$, and known as the poorly-constrained but very important function in studies of star and galaxy formation. There are no sensible…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2023-04-13 Shohei Aoyama , Masami Ouchi , Yuichi Harikane

This paper revisits the classical Kennicutt method for inferring the stellar initial mass function (IMF) from the integrated light properties of galaxies. The large size, uniform high quality data set from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR4…

Astrophysics · Physics 2011-04-20 Erik A. Hoversten , Karl Glazebrook

Several independent lines of evidence suggest that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) in early-type galaxies becomes increasingly `bottom-heavy' with increasing galaxy mass and/or velocity dispersion, sigma. Here we consider evidence…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-16 Charlie Conroy , Aaron A. Dutton , Genevieve J. Graves , J. Trevor Mendel , Pieter G. van Dokkum

Mass measurements and absorption line studies indicate that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is bottom-heavy in the central regions of many early-type galaxies, with an excess of low mass stars compared to the IMF of the Milky Way.…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2021-12-22 Pieter van Dokkum , Charlie Conroy

A number of recent studies have proposed that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) of early type galaxies varies systematically as a function of galaxy mass, with higher mass galaxies having bottom heavy IMFs. These bottom heavy IMFs…

We examine the cosmic evolution of a stellar initial mass function (IMF) in galaxies that varies with the Jeans mass in the interstellar medium, paying particular attention to the K-band stellar mass to light ratio (M/L_K) of present-epoch…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-11 Desika Narayanan , Romeel Davé

We explore the stellar initial mass function (IMF) of a sample of 49 massive quiescent galaxies (MQGs) at 0.9$<$z$<$1.5. We base our analysis on intermediate resolution spectro-photometric data in the GOODS-N field taken in the…

Evidence from different probes of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) of massive early-type galaxies (ETGs) has repeatedly converged on IMFs more bottom-heavy than in the Milky Way (MW). This consensus has come under scrutiny due to…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2023-09-29 Kianusch Mehrgan , Jens Thomas , Roberto Saglia , Taniya Parikh , Bianca Neureiter , Peter Erwin , Ralf Bender

Theoretical arguments and indirect observational evidence suggest that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) may evolve with time, such that it is more weighted toward high mass stars at higher redshift. Here we test this idea by…

Astrophysics · Physics 2010-01-07 Pieter van Dokkum

The Stellar Initial Mass Function (IMF) characterizes the mass distribution of newly formed stars in various cosmic environments, serving as a fundamental assumption in astrophysical research. Recent findings challenge the prevalent notion…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2024-05-29 Zhiqiang Yan , Jiadong Li , Pavel Kroupa , Tereza Jerabkova , Eda Gjergo , Zhi-Yu Zhang

Using deep HST/ACS observations, we demonstrate that the sub-solar stellar initial mass function (IMF) of 6 ultra-faint dwarf Milky Way Satellites (UFDs) is more bottom light than the IMF of the Milky Way disk. Our data have a lower mass…

We determine an absolute calibration of the initial mass function (IMF) of early-type galaxies, by studying a sample of 56 gravitational lenses identified by the SLACS Survey. Under the assumption of standard Navarro, Frenk & White dark…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2014-11-20 T. Treu , M. W. Auger , L. V. E. Koopmans , R. Gavazzi , P. J. Marshall , A. S. Bolton

We here present the first spatially-resolved study of the IMF in external galaxies derived using a dynamical tracer of the mass-to-light ratio. We use the kinematics of relaxed molecular gas discs in seven early-type galaxies (ETGs)…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2016-09-21 Timothy A. Davis , Richard M. McDermid

The spectral absorption lines in early-type galaxies contain a wealth of information regarding the detailed abundance pattern, star formation history, and stellar initial mass function (IMF) of the underlying stellar population. Using our…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-05 Charlie Conroy , Pieter van Dokkum

There is substantial evidence that the initial mass function (IMF) may be a function of the local star formation conditions. In particular, the IMF is predicted to flatten with increasing local luminosity density, with the formation of…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-10-30 Jason A. Taylor
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